MiltyG565 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 following on from a discussion on the mix competition this month, I thought I would open up a discussion here. Basically, we were talking about how we listen to music, and how it affects what we actually hear, and what is are some good and bad points about each form, and maybe we can get some opinions on what people think is good or bad gear. Personally, I use my Sennheiser HD205s most of the time. They aren't perfect by any means, but they are the most effective thing I have for mixing on. The speakers on my laptop or horrendous, and you just hear absolutely zero bass from them. What do you use for general listening and/or mixing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) About the only place I ever listen to music these days is in the car. I will occasionally take my MP3 player to the beach or on a long trip, but usually it's the crappy old stereo in the car. If I'm learning new stuff I usually use Youtube. I own two music systems, including a record player, and I still have all my old vinyl, but they rarely get used. Edited May 21, 2013 by Deep Thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 If you are hearing music, it is rarely bad, whatever works for you Obviously if it's for mixing purposes as transparent and ugly as you can make it, but after that anything goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Through this website I got into Z10 laptop speakers for when I am online and was amazed that I could suddenly hear basslines! I was listening to a lot of music at that time on my computer and was missing loads. I have since gone to Richer Sounds and got a load of mid range separates to play vinyl, CD and even dock the iPod. Again huge difference from my previous stereos. And I listen to a lot of music in the car. I was of the opinion that money should be spent buying more music but having bought 1000s of albums over the years it is nice to have decent stereo equipment on which to enjoy that music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 For listening, if the music moves you then it doesn't matter what it's being played on. For mixing you want a system that gives that when you've made the mix sound good on it , it will also sound brilliant on as many other systems as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 These days ; akg headphones ( cuts out noise from pram faces / bawling babies etc. ) & iPhone . Home ; at present I either just use ipad / tunein radio to listen to Canadian / us rock stations. Or I do the same thing using Mac mini /monitor audio bx5a studio monitors instead of ipad. In the bedroom/ hallway I have ceiling speakers / Cambridge audio amp/ nakamichi CD player . Haven't used this setup since brother has been staying with me. Living room ; Cambridge audio amp / b&w speakers(bookshelf) /TV . /pink triangle turntable . Again , not used since brother came to stay. Kitchen ; small radio/cd thingy for catching up with the news. Sennheiser headphones for listening to myself practising Bass , or late you tube gigs. Think that's it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I am what I guess you'd call an audiophile although I associate that with swapping of boxes and GAS, I've also got a really nice pair of in ear monitors for when I'm on the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Humongous floor standing transmission lines Because I'm worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I listen and do what I could laughingly call mixing via Bow/Bryston amplification into either Leema Xavier or Ditton 66 speakers (the Dittons will do 18Hz, which is handy if I'm octaving down...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 For both listening to music for enjoyment, and for listening to new tracks, it`s got to be on my sound system. I can`t deal with listening to music on my computer (with separate speakers) unless whilst on my exercise bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynottfan Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Bose gear and a Dual record deck. Music through a computer always sounds lacking imho, find a lot of MP3 stuff to compressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1369154330' post='2085556'] Humongous floor standing transmission lines Because I'm worth it [/quote] I didn't understand about 95% of this comment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1369157431' post='2085622'] I didn't understand about 95% of this comment... [/quote] Big floorstanding transmission line (as opposed to ported) speakers. Good transmission lines go deeper with less bumps in the low end frequency response. Mine are reasonable examples. Because I love to hear bass cleanly. And because I am worth it :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1369161799' post='2085693'] Big floorstanding transmission line (as opposed to ported) speakers. Good transmission lines go deeper with less bumps in the low end frequency response. Mine are reasonable examples. Because I love to hear bass cleanly. And because I am worth it :-D [/quote] Ehh, sorry to say it, but I still don't know what that means For me, it's more like poundland earphones - because you're worthless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I use a pair of Grado SR60s or Sennheiser C300s mostly. I've got some lovely Hi-Fi speakers somewhere, but with 2 kids around (and a wife who complains about how they look) they're likely to hibernate for a little bit longer yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1369164100' post='2085743'] I use a pair of Grado SR60s or Sennheiser C300s mostly. I've got some lovely Hi-Fi speakers somewhere, but with 2 kids around (and a wife who complains about how they look) they're likely to hibernate for a little bit longer yet... [/quote] That's unfortunate! You just can't beat a good listen sometimes! I love to mellow out to music, and just let my mind turn to mush, but at least you have a decent set of headphones to listen on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Best system I have is in the car, and as I drive for a living that's the only time I listen to music. As with previous posters I too have 2 kids and a wife, all of which have about as much interest in my music as I do in their obsession with every soap that's on TV. However I am considering going back to vinyl and building my collection up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) At work it's earbuds, in the car it's car speakers, when mixing it's monitors, listening at home it could be various pairs of speakers around the house but the music is usually streamed off my network drive over wifi using my phone as a remote and then to the speakers via bluetooth, and it's mostly mp3. Which is mostly fine, and very convenient. Edited May 21, 2013 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I remember reading that Rick Rubin said he would always listen to his mixes in the car on the way home from the studio and when they sounded good in the car he was happy, as the vast majority of everyday folk only listen to music in the car, at least I think it was RR. As nearly everything he produces sounds awesome, to my ears, I'm happy to follow his rule of thumb, it also makes perfect sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Berry Gordy (IIRC) used to have a small transistor radio setup to test his mixes in the studio, as that's where they would end up. Makes sense to me and didn't really do his output any harm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Almost always in the car from my phone into the aux in. If I can ever be bothered to get headphones out I have a set of half decent earbuds. I've never owned a decent stereo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 [quote name='Wil' timestamp='1369171795' post='2085907'] Almost always in the car from my phone into the aux in. If I can ever be bothered to get headphones out I have a set of half decent earbuds. I've never owned a decent stereo. [/quote] Pretty similar to me then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1369161799' post='2085693'] Big floorstanding transmission line (as opposed to ported) speakers. [b]Good transmission lines go deeper with less bumps in the low end frequency response[/b]. Mine are reasonable examples. Because I love to hear bass cleanly. And because I am worth it :-D [/quote] Arguably! There's a number of ways of producing bass extension, and even bass response - all of them are a compromise of some sort. IIRC, a fully executed Transmission Line needs to have a line of at least 1/4length of the lowest wavelength desired. So if you want 17Hz you'll need a TL of 5m, which of course is quite difficult to get into a cabinet that will fit in your living room. Clever engineering can get round this to an extent, but then it also can in both ported, sealed box and isobaric designs. My Dittons rely on a 12" bass unit, large volume and a 12" passive radiator to get to a -6dB figure of 18Hz. My Leema Xaviers use a very long throw 6.5" driver and a low bass crossover point plus large volume to get 28Hz at -3dB. My dream speaker (Eggleston Ivy) uses 6 12" drivers in an isobaric (i.e. pressure driven) configuration to get 13Hz at -4dB. PMCs BB5, an excellent speaker and none more black, uses a transmission line to get a "usable frequency" of 17Hz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) In the car is best,I spent nearly 2k on an upgrade, now you can here everything,even squeeky bass drum pedals,totaly the best for working out songs,no I dont drive around with a bass on my lap,thats daft,its on the back seat Edited May 23, 2013 by merlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Something else I've just started using recently is the Aux in on my bass amp. Using spotify on my phone to jam along to stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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